Art-O-Mat 15th Anniversary SwapMeet

I can't believe it's already been another 5 years since the last SwapMeet Anniversary.  That was my first 2 week solo road trip including my first camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, first time to Winston-Salem, NC, first time visiting my sister and her family in NY, first time to Niagara Falls and my first time driving through Canada.

This time around the Art-O-Mat SwapMeet Anniversary is being held in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where they currently host one of the Art-O-Mat Machines.  Join me if you're in the area on Saturday, July 28th, 2012, from 1-4:30pm.  You can meet a bunch of the current artists, watch demos (including mine!) on how they make their art for the machines, talk with Clark Whittington about becoming one of the Artists In Cellophane, and create one of your own mini works of art.

As a special treat for all you other AIC artists at the meet, I've created a special edition of my tree painting blocks, entitled "Washington D.C. Cherry Tree", to swap with you.  Here's a sneak peak of what they look like:  

"Full Moon Rising"

It's been a busy last month.  Ran a new barefoot 1/2 marathon PR in 2:55:00.  That was the Summerfest Rock n Sole on June 23.  A week later I spent vacation time biking and running with family in 100+ degree heat.  Last week I was kayaking and camping in the lovely BWCA.  Not sure how many river miles I put in, but just to keep running in the mix I ran in between loads on the portage trails in my water shoes, sometimes with water still in them.  Got in some swimming, took lots of photos, tested my painting skills using guache (opaque water colors), and made it out just shy of a few drops of rain starting to fall on the windshield of my car.  Once home and unpacked I completed my new business card design from start to finish.  And to top of the end of a great 2 week vacation, I painted this picture today.  I'll be dropping it off, along with a few other works, this week to The Waxwing in Shorewood.  Opening Night Reception is Friday, July 20th, 6-9pm for anyone interested in seeing my new works in person.  They'll be on display for sale through September 18th or so.  After that, contact me if you're interested in buying any of them - I will have my new website up and running by then!  www.ArtByKelli.net

"Full Moon Rising"
July 2012

acrylic on canvas, 20"H x 16"w

Live Painting June 9 Recap

For those of you who missed my live painting this past weekend, here's a few of its stages taken over the 3 hour session.  The completed painting took about 6 hours total.  I've been playing around with some yoga themes lately - this one features 3 different poses.

  "Side Staff, Tree, Warrior"

by Kelli Busch, June 2012

Acrylic on canvas, 36"h x 20"w

Live Painting Saturday June 9

This Saturday, June 9th from 11am-2pm I'll be painting live OUTSIDE on N. Water Street, 1/2 block south of E. Michigan (in between Fred Boutique and Miss Ruby) for Shop Second Saturdays in downtown Milwaukee. Come check it out and see what I'm working on these days!  I'll give you a hint: the canvas is 36"h x 20"w, paint will be used, and people will be involved.

Lake Minnetonka 1/2 Marathon 2012

A successful 2nd barefoot 1/2 marathon for the year! Finish time 2:04:52. 1487 out of 2450. Shaved 22 minutes off my time from the race in April, 99% attributed to my pace "group" Laura Jester, my support team Paul Jester, and my barefoot partner in crime Steve Jester. Without them my only other 1% chance of finishing this race faster was the 100% chance of rain we were supposed to get by 10am (race started at 8am) that turned into 100% no rain for the rest of the day after 6:30am.

 
Oh, and did I mention that there was about a mile of gravel trail we ran on starting somewhere near mile 11.5?  I lost 2 minutes to this section.  Laura and Steve managed to keep their pace and finished 2 minutes ahead of me.  Paul was kind enough to stay with me and make sure I didn't need to be carried back to pavement.  It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't already have blisters on my toes from incorrect running form.  

Overall it was a really great day.  I had lots of fun running with my siblings, and I'm pretty sure Steve and I were the only ones running completely barefoot.  We even had an unofficial race spectator specialist tell us we were part Kenyan.  My goal for the next race (Summerfest Rock 'n Sole on June 23) is to run it barefoot under 2 hours, and hopefully without the blisters.

"Treeple"

"Treeple"
acrylic on board, 5'x4'
painted by Kelli Busch and Greg Schoeneck live during Art Milwaukee's "Wedding" Gallery Night After Party event at the City Center, April 20, 2012.

"Wedding" event you ask? That's right. The wedding of 10 artists on 5 canvases in the time span given of approximately 3 hours. Each pair of artists were put together to create a unique work of art together on one board.

Attempting to capture the different stages of our painting, I took a photo roughly every 15 to 20 minutes. You'll notice there are only 5 photos; after only about 2 hours of painting we were asked by a couple if we could stop because they liked the piece so much they wanted to buy it how it was in its current state. Eager to acquire the painting they put cash in our hands and our paint brushes took a bow, signing the lower right corner to make it official.

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3:

Stage 4:

Stage 5, finished piece:

13.1 miles Barefoot COMPLETE!

Today's race was the South Shore 1/2 Marathon located in Milwaukee, WI. My goal was not just to finish, but to run the entire 13.1 miles of bike-path pavement while barefoot. Not in those "barefoot" running shoes, not minimalist shoes, nothing. No shoes at all. And although I did carry my minimalist shoes with me for that "just in case" satisfaction, I managed to complete the whole course skin to asphalt, step after step. Speed was not my concern, however I made a secret deal with myself to try and finish under 2.5 hours. I crossed the finish line in 2:26:19 with a smile on my face, no blisters on my toes, and no glass stuck in my feet. Lake Minnetonka 1/2 Marathon here I come!

As a side note, there was 1 other person running without shoes, and 1 person running in sandals who was transitioning into barefoot but didn't want to risk it for his first 1/2 marathon.